


Reunion and regret

by Vault_Emblem



Category: Saint Seiya, 聖闘士星矢: 黄金魂 | Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold
Genre: Angst, Gen, Introspection, Regret, Reunions, Trans Character, Trans!Shura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 03:13:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15921622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vault_Emblem/pseuds/Vault_Emblem
Summary: Shura reunites with Aphrodite and Deathmask.What was supposed to be a happy reunion turns out to be way more awkward, as the trio has changed a lot during the years.





	Reunion and regret

**Author's Note:**

> So I found out that we were supposed to have some Trash Trio content in Soul of Gold but then the idea was scrapped off, so I had to do something.
> 
> Disclaimer: I’ll just say it now so it doesn’t come up in the comments.  
> Yes, I use hyphens for dialogues and quotation marks for thoughts. Why? Because this is how we do in Italy, the country I’m from (actually there’s more freedom in Italy and more than one method to use this kind of punctuation but whatever).  
> This is the method I’ve learned and the one I’m used to, and I don’t think I’ll even change it.  
> Please, I beg you, stop pointing it out, it’s starting to get really annoying, especially when that’s the only thing people comment about.

They didn’t think that a reunion would be so awkward, but here they are.

At least the room they’re all in is big enough for them to get some space between each other, even though it’s mostly Shura the one who’s keeping his distance.

 

 

They’ve met accidentally.

Deathmask and Aphrodite were walking through the town, discussing what they should do and wondering whether the others are in a same situation as them, when they met Shura wandering around, his Cloth safely inside the box he was carrying on his shoulders.

The first thing Deathmask suggested was to celebrate with a few – many – drinks, but Shura wasn’t in the mood for that.

 

He was happy to have found his friends but… there was something about that situation that put him on edge.

Also, if they were somehow resurrected, maybe the others have shared the same fate.

 

 

… He needs to find _him_.

 

 

He stays with Deathmask and Aphrodite for the night, not having a place to stay.

They exchanged a few words but it doesn’t feel right. And to think that they were so close when they were young…

 

Things have changed. They have changed.

Nothing has remained of those cute little kids who set foot inside the Sanctuary for the first time.

 

Shura looks at Deathmask.

He’s always been as asshole – that hasn’t changed – but there’s something about it…

His lips smile, and yet his eyes don’t.

When you spend so much time in close contact with death, life must look like a joke.

Not that Shura hasn’t done his fair share of killings, but Deathmask have started to see it as a pastime, a way to feel something again. He doesn’t have fun anymore if there isn’t blood on his hands.

 

The masks in his Temple are a constant reminder of what he’s become.

Shura wonders what he feels when he looks at the faces of all those he killed.

 

His gaze wanders from Deathmask to Aphrodite, who looks more at ease than the other two, but he’s probably faking it. He’s always been pretty good at dissimulating.

Despite their Temples being close to each other, he and Aphrodite had started to interact way less than they once did.

He had his things to take care of – the Royal Demon Roses garden for example – and Shura had other things to take care of as well.

 

It hasn’t been the venom in Aphrodite’s blood that made them stop to see each other, but Shura himself.

 

Speaking of that, he has changed too, both physically and mentally.

 

His body is sharper, stronger and, most importantly, it feels like it’s his, instead of being part of someone he wasn’t.

Even his name has changed, and he’s been the one to choose that. It doesn’t feel like something imposed to him anymore.

Now he feels like himself.

 

Now it’s not his body what bothers him anymore, but his mind.

… There are so many mistakes he made, so many things he regrets.

 

On that fateful night… everything changed.

He can’t stop thinking about it.

 

He sees how well Deathmask and Aphrodite still get along and he wonders what’s wrong with him, why he isn’t able to forget everything and have fun with the new life they’ve been given.

… Maybe if he finds him, if he sees that he’s alive, if he apologizes, he’ll be able to.

 

Can a mere apology be enough, though?

 

He doesn’t feel like he deserves to be forgiven, not like this at least. He should do something to earn it.

 

He notices how the other two are looking at him. They’re worried, that much is obvious.

He should ask them if they feel the same way, he should talk about it, but the words don’t come to him easily.

He shouldn’t bother them with his mistakes. They all have something to atone for.

 

 

When morning comes, Shura leaves.

No matter what Aphrodite tells him, that he can stay with them, he doesn’t budge.

 

\- I have someone to find -, he says.

\- We can help you find him -, Deathmask proposes, half asleep and still under the covers, in an attempt to let him stay.

Sure, in three things would be done much faster, but…

 

\- It’s a thing that I have to do alone -, Shura replies, his voice firm.

Aphrodite sighs. Shura has always been like this: when he sets his mind on something, nothing can make him change idea.

\- All right, all right, just… be careful out there -, he says then, with a much softer voice that Shura had expected.

 

Despite everything, they still care about him and he still cares about them.

Some things never change, uh?

 

Aphrodite hugs him, and after a moment of surprise, Shura hugs him back.

\- I will -, he promises, and he’s about to leave again when he turns around and he adds, - When I come back… I wouldn’t mind getting those few drinks Deathmask was talking about -.

 

He hears Deathmask laugh and he can’t help but to smile.

\- Of course -, Aphrodite replies, with a smile on his face as well, and with that Shura leaves, determined to find _him_.

 

Maybe after he’s done, he’ll try to catch up with them. They deserve more than having him in the state he is now.

Things change with time, but he would like to keep what ties them to each other.

He doesn’t want to lose his friends.


End file.
